INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FOR LICENSURE
AS A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR FIRM
A completed application should include the following documents:
_____ Completed Application (including employer submission of Experience Form)
_____ Application Fee ($300) ($150 if less than one (1) year before quadrennial renewal date)
_____ Criminal Background Check from each City, County and State of Residence Within Previous Seven (7) Years
_____ Fingerprint-Based Criminal Background Check from the L-1 Identity Solutions
_____ Proof of Limited Liability Insurance
_____ Academic Transcripts (if applicable)
_____ Corporate Filings (if applicable)
_____ Verification(s) of Professional Licensure from each state where licensure is held or has been held (if applicable)
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
Before completing and submitting your application to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, please read all instructions. If you have any questions, please contact the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency at (317) 234-3040 or email us at . For additional information, please visit our website at www.PLA.IN.gov.
AGENCY ADDRESS
Private Investigator and Security Guard Licensing Board
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
402 West Washington Street, Room W072
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
THE FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICE ACT
In compliance with IC § 4-1-6, this agency is notifying you that you must provide the requested information or your application will not be processed. You have the right to challenge, correct, or explain information maintained by this agency. Except for your Social Security Number, all other information you provide will become public record. Your academic transcripts are confidential except in circumstances where their release is required by law, in which case you will be notified.
MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
Pursuant to Section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974, you are hereby given notice that disclosure of your U.S. Social Security number on this application is mandatory for the purpose of complying with IC § 25-1-5-8 and IC § 4-1-8-1 which provide that the Indiana Department of Revenue may obtain Social Security numbers from the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency for tax enforcement purposes.
Failure to disclose your U.S. social security number will result in the denial of your application.
APPLICATION
Mail completed application along with all required documentation listed below to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.
COMPLETION OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS
An application shall be considered abandoned if the applicant does not complete the requirements for licensure within one (1) year from the date on which the application was filed. An application submitted subsequent to an abandoned application shall be treated as a new application.
AFFIDAVIT
If you answer “Yes” to any of the four (4) questions on the application, the applicant must explain fully in a signed and notarized affidavit, meaning an explanation or statement of facts and or events, including all related details. Describe the event including location, date, and disposition. Include all relevant legal documents, if applicable. Letters from attorneys will not be accepted in lieu of your statement. However they may accompany your affidavit.
APPLICATION FEES
All applicants must submit a three hundred dollar ($300) application fee made payable to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. This fee may be submitted by cash, check or money order. We cannot accept payment by credit card. All fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.
PHOTOGRAPHS
All applicants must submit one (1) acceptable passport-quality photograph, taken within eight (8) weeks of the submission of the application. The photograph should be approximately 2 x 3 inches, head and shoulders view of the applicant only, black and white or color, of professional quality. No “Polaroid” type photographs, laminated photographs, laminated identification cards or group photographs will be accepted.
CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS
All applicants must obtain criminal history background checks from each city, county and state of residence within the seven (7) years preceding the filing of the application for licensure. If an applicant has been on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States for any duration of time during the preceding seven (7) years, the applicant may submit their DD-214 Form (Discharge Papers or Report of Separation) in lieu of the criminal background check(s) for that duration of time.
Additionally, all applicants must obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history check from the Indiana State Police. Please contact L-1 Identity Solutions by phone at (877) 472-6917 or online at www.L1enrollment.com in order to obtain a fingerprint-based criminal background check from the Indiana State Police. The applicable fingerprint instruction sheet and form may be found on the Professional Licensing Agency’s web site.
VERIFICATION OF LIABILITY INSURANCE
All applicants must submit an original or notarized copy of Certificate of Insurance verifying that the Private Investigator Firm will have a liability insurance policy of $100,000. Note that the policy must list the “State of Indiana” as an additional insured on the Certificate of Insurance.
For applicants who choose to wait before obtaining this required liability insurance coverage, the board will review all other application materials and, if qualified, approve the applicant for licensure pending receipt of this verification of liability insurance. Once this verification has been received, a license will be issued.
OFFICIAL ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT
Applicants who hold a bachelors degree or higher in criminal justice or a related field may seek to use their degree for purposes of meeting the experience requirement. Applicants who wish to seek licensure under this method must submit an official transcript from the regionally accredited college or university from which they obtained their degree, showing that all requirements for graduation have been met and when the degree was granted. Regional accreditation must be from an organization approved by the Board. NOTE: Transcripts must be original, official transcripts. Copies or incomplete (not yet showing the degree granted) transcripts are not acceptable.
VERIFICATION OF EXPERIENCE FORM
Applicants seeking to use employment experience of a minimum of 4,000 hours over a minimum of a two-year period must complete SECTION I of the Verification of Experience Form and submit the form to their employer for completion of SECTION II of the form. The employer must submit the completed and notarized form directly to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Applicants who have completed the 4,000 hour/2 year experience requirement with more than one employer must make copies of the Verification of Experience Form and send the forms to each employer for completion and submission. Experience must be verified by someone other than the applicant.
NOTE: The Private Investigator and Security Guard Licensing Board meets on the 3rd Thursday of each odd-numbered month. Applications must be completed one week prior to the board meeting in order to be considered for action.